house science committee

The House Science Committee is continuing to pursue its baseless and dangerous subpoenas that, if enforced, would strike a significant blow to the First Amendment. Yesterday, we sent a response to committee Chairman Lamar Smith’s latest letter, and this time we sent it with 1300+ pages of documents that detail our very public work to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for deceiving the public about climate change science. In doing so, we again respectfully refused to comply with the subpoena for our internal correspondence and stated our continued commitment to defending our rights under the United States Constitution.
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This morning the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to discuss its legal authority to issue subpoenas its Chairman had already issued. Yes, you read that correctly. House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith held a hearing this morning to investigate his own investigation. And the hearing was as bizarre as that sounds. Read more >

“If we aren’t going to listen to the experts when we craft our bills, I’m really not sure what we’re doing here,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) as I took my seat in the chambers of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on Thursday, July 7th. I wasn’t surprised to hear her say it. The Republican-dominated Committee has long been hostile to expert opinion—particularly on mainstream climate science—to the frustration of the minority Democrats. Read more >

Today House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith sent congressional subpoenas to several attorneys general and nonprofit organizations—including the Union of Concerned Scientists—demanding access to correspondence among these groups and between these groups and the attorneys general offices. Read more >

Yesterday the New York Times printed a full-page advertisement sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a free-market think tank that has been funded by ExxonMobil and has regularly misrepresented climate science. The ad reads in large font “Abuse of Power” followed by discussion of free speech rights of companies, nonprofits, and individuals to disagree on climate change. The ad claims that attorneys general in several states and the US Virgin Islands are overstepping their roles in investigating ExxonMobil for possible fraud.
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